Therapeutic instrument for application of heat and cold



1965 MOTOHARU OKUHARA 3,168,395

THERAPEUTIC INSTRUMENT FOR APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Nov. 19, 1962 1965 MOTOHARU OKUHARA 3,168,895

THERAPEUTIC INSTRUMENT FOR APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD Filed Nov. 19, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1965 MOTOHARU OKUHARA 3,168,895

THERAPEUTIC INSTRUMENT FOR APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD Filed Nov. 19, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 1955 MOTOHARU OKUHARA 3,168,895

THERAPEUTIC INSTRUMENT FOR APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD United States Patent Office 3,168,895 Patented Feb. 9, 1965 3,168,895 THERAR EUTTC TNSTRUMENT FOR APPLI- CATTON F HEAT AND COLD Motoharu Qituhara, 374 Tsuhoi, Mishhna-cho, Mishima-gun, Usaka-fu, Japan Fiied Nov. 19, 1962, SeraNo. 238,534

Claims. (Cl. 128-399) This invention relates to a therapeutic instrument for treating diseases and improving health by merely stimulating the skin parts of the human body such as hands or feet. More particularly, this invention relates to a therapeutic instrument for examining an affected part of the body by giving a hot stimulation to the somatic nerve and furthermore for treating a disease by giving hot and cold stimu'lations alternately to the somatic nerve.

This invention has for one object to provide a therapeutic instrument consisting of two simple devices for giving hot and cold stimulation respectively to a somatic nerve of the body in moderation.

Another object is to provide a therapeutic instrument for locating an alfected part or disease in the body by giving a hot stimulation to a somatic nerve.

A still another object is to provide a therapeutic instrument adapted for general therapeutic use involving heat and cold and in which the relative position and the distance between the heat bulb and cool bulb can be changed by the user without help of others. A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the apparatus according to the invention and partly in cross section and with the parts of the apparatus separated, A denoting its cool bulb side, and B its heat bulb side, respectively,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the apparatus completely assembled in the form in which it is usually employed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the apparatus arranged in a position such that the heat and cool bulbs are spaced at a relative distance in space; 7

FIG. 5 is aview similar to FIG. 3 showing the apparatus arranged in a position such that the heat and cool bulbs are spaced at a relatively small distance in space and in which the heat bulb has a modified form of heating means.

In the prior art method of giving a hot stimulation to the autonomic nerve by applying a burned incense-stick directly to some skin parts of the body, it is an undeniable fact that many drawbacks may arise, as for example,

often causing a reaction, or leaving scars or marks on the skin. Further, I am not aware of any simple and effective therapeutic apparatus that may be operated by the person onwhom therapy is being performed without help of others and at ones home or any other place.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to stimulate the so-called somatic nerve such as the sensory or sensible nerve, and also apply hot and cold stimulations to the skin part connected with the automatic nerve and with advantages such as: no pain, no mark, no side reaction, simple operation, short time for treatment and the possibility of treating oneself without the assistance of others.

Referring now to the attached drawings, a heat bulb 1 for giving a hot stimulation is provided on the end of a slender body 2. The bulb 1 is smoothly polished on the whole external surface, and is hollow and the slender body 2 is hollow. The slender body 2 is provided with a slot 3 that a'candle holder 5 which supports an incensestick in the form of candle 4 can be adjustably fitted into the slot. A wing cap 6 is secured for example by soldering, to the end of the candle holder 5, and is in the form of an open-ring tube with a slightly larger diameter than the holder and has its ends 7, '7 turned back. The ends 7 and 7' spring away from each other to engage the edges of slot 3 for securing the holder 5 in a desired position or preventing it from slipping down from its position in the slot.

Needless to say, the proper position is determined depending on the length or heating power of the candle by sliding up or down the candle holder up and down along the slot. An arm, or a handle 8 for the heat bulb is made of wood, plastics, or other substance which is a poor heat conductor, and is connected to the slender body at one end, and has an enlarged part 10 at the other end. The enlarged part at the free end is provided with a long groove for allowing displacement therealong of a coupling pin 24. There can also be provided a metal fitting ll acting as a bushing for the groove 9 where the arm is of a soft material.

One end of a hollow cool bulb 12 has an expansion chamber 16 for producing means to give a cold stimulation, the expansion chamber being on a slender body 18 which is also hollow in a simliar manner to the heat bulb as described above. It is so designed that the cooling action to be produced by the cool bulb is effected by making use of the evaporation of a volatile material such as Dry Ice 21-contained in the bulb. The body 13 has a screw cap 20 closing the upper end and is provided with a small hole 14 on its surface for receiving an adjusting bolt13. The threaded part of the bolt has a cavity 15 with a V-shaped, or some other form of-circulation groove which grows larger in cross section the nearer it gets to the inner end of the bolt 13. The existence of the cavity makes it possible to control the clearance through which the interiorof the bulb is exposed to the open air to permit circulation by adjusting the position of the bolt in the small hole 14, thereby controlling the evaporation rate of the substance contained in the bulb. It will be apparent that the cooling action produced by the evaporation of the substance in the bulb by absorbing heat from the surrounding bulb can be controlled depending upon the position of the bolt in the aperture 14.

t -An arm 22 is provided and has the cool bulb 12 mounted at one end and on the other end has a boss 23 with a hole drilled in the center thereof to receive a coupling pin 24. The arm 22 is made of a material which is a poor heat conductor, such as Wood or plastics such as the arm 8 for the heat bulb.

The heat bulb and cool bulb can be connected to each other by the coupling pin 24 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. Moreover, the provision of the groove 9 makes it possible to easily adjust the relative position and the distance between the heat bulb and cool bulb at will.

For another type of the usage, the Dry Ice may be replaced by water or ice. However, in this case some suitable packings 1'7, 17' must be provided beneath cap 20 and bolt 13 for sealing or keeping a water tight joint at the respective contacting surfaces on which the bolt 12 and screw cap 2% seat. Q

Prior to the operation of the apparatus asthus shown, the wingtcap 6 must first be moved out of the slot 3 on the heat bulb slender body 2, by pressing the ends 7, 7 together with the fingers, thereby releasing their grip on the edges of slot 3. After one end 4' of an incense-stick or candle is lighted, the other end is inserted into the candle-holder 5, and then secured in the proper position in the slot by releasing the ends 7, 7 at the proper position along the length of the slot. T

In the actual operation, the heat bulb end 1 is first heated to a certain examination temperature by the heat from a}? the burned candle, and is then touched to the skin at the desired location, thereby giving a hot stimulation to the skin part. It will be clear that the degree of heating may be easily controlled by merely adjusting the position of the burned candle in the'slot.

Next, thescrew cap 2!) is removed from the cool bulb 12 to put into the chamber 16 a suitable volume of Dry Ice 21 and then replaced. Then, the adjusting bolt 13 is screwed intothe hole 14 to the proper point for setting the circulation groove so that it provides a suitable space for causing the desired rate of evaporation.

In the treatment, it is the usual practice to arrange the apparatus as shown in FIG. 3, Where the arms of the heat and cool bulbs are connected together in a straight line.

One use for this apparatus is to simply touch those parts on the surface of the skin in connection with the somatic nerve with the heat bulb at the examination temperature.

Therapy can also be carried out by the combined operation of alternately giving first coldand then hot stimulations to the skin parts. This operation can be repeated a certain number of times. I-Iowever, sometimes it is desirable'to have a different ratio of cold to hot stimulations which depend upon the kind and degree of the therapy.

In operation, the apparatus may often be used in the arrangement as shown in FIG. 4, where the ends of the heat and cool bulbs are set a relatively great distance for the purpose of home use or easy operation by oneself on a part such as the back of the body.

The apparatus may also be arranged in the position shown in FIG. 5, where the ends of the heat and cool bulbs are only, slightly spaced, and with this arrangement the apparatus will make possible alternate use'of hot and cold stimulations many times. In other embodiments of the invention, the heat bulb may be provided with an electric resistance Wire 30 as a heating member. In addition, the cool bulb can have ice or cold water in it instead of the Dry Ice as described above. The cooling member need not necessarily have a cooling medium in it, depending upon the surrounding conditions, operating times, or other requirements For example, in winter or at a cold place, the cool bulb itself mayeffectively serve as a cooling member.

" I claim:

1. A therapeutic apparatus, comprising a hollow. heat bulb, a hollow slender body on. one end of which said heat bulb is mounted, means mounted within said slender "body for heating said heat bulb, a heat bulb arm on one 4 end of which said slender body is attached, a hollow cool bulb, a slender body on one end of which said cool bulb is mounted, and a cool bulb armon one end of which said cool bulb slender body is mounted, the other ends of said arms being adjustable attachable to eachother, whereby. said arms can be positionedto bring said heat bulb and said cool bulb close together or spaced relatively far apart.

' 2. A therapeutic apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said means mounted in said slender body for heating said heat bulb comprises an electric resistance wire.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cool bulb has an aperture therein and means adjustably mounted in said aperture for varying the cross sectional opening of the aperture to control the escape of gas and vapor from within said cool bulb.

4. A therapeutic apparatus, comprising a hollow heat bulb, a hollow slender body on one end of which said heat bulb is mounted, means adjustably mounted within said slender body for heating said heat bulb, a heat bulb arm on one end of which said slender body is attached,- a hollow cool bulb, a slender body on one end of which said cool bulb is mounted, a removable cap on the other end of said cool bulb, a cool bulb arm on one end of which said cool bulb slender body'is mounted, said arms being of a material which is a poor heat conductor, and attaching means on the other ends of said arms for adjustably attaching said arms to each other, whereby said arms'can be positioned to bring said heat bulb and said cool bulb close together or spaced relatively far apart.

5. A therapeutic apparatus as claimed in'claim 4 in which said means adjustably mounted in said slender body r for heating the heat bulb comprises an elongated combustible member, an open ring to which said holder is attached, the ends of the open ring being bent back and diverging from each other, said slender body having a slot extending along it and said bent back ends projecting'throu'gh said slot and engaging the edges of the slot for holding the holder and the combustible member in position along the length of said slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,346,245 2,547,886. 4/51 Poux l2 8402 3,095,880 7/63 Haagensen 128.4l8

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. LOUIS seamen, Examiner. V

4/44 Zichlin 128--40l 

1. A THERAPEUTIC APPARATUS, COMPRISING A HOLLOW HEAT BULB, A HOLLOW SLENDER BODY ON ONE END OF WHICH SAID HEAT BULB IS MOUNTED, MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID SLENDER BODY FOR HEATING SAID HEAT BULB, A HEAT BULB ARM ON ONE END OF WHICH SAID SLENDER BODY IS ATTACHED, A HOLLOW COOL BULB, A SLENDER BODY ON ONE END OF WHICH SAID COOL BULB IS MOUNTED, AND A COOL BULB ARM ON ONE END OF WHICH SAID COOL BULB SLENDER BODY IS MOUNTED, THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID ARMS BEING ADJUSTABLE ATTACHABLE TO EACH OTHER, WHEREBY SAID ARMS CAN BE POSITIONED TO BRING SAID HEAT BULB AND SAID COOL BULB CLOSE TOGETHER OR SPACED RELATIVELY FAR APART. 